1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and a method of producing such a connector.
2. Background Art
As the use of electronic devices becomes increasingly prevalent, there is a need to provide an ever increasing number of electronic components on printed circuit boards (PC boards). In the past, it was not uncommon for an electronic component to have wire leads that were inserted into holes in the PC board. With this “through-hole” technology, the wire leads from the electronic component extended completely through the PC board. This made it difficult, if not impossible, to use both sides of the PC board for different circuits.
In many cases today, through-hole connections on PC boards have been replaced with surface mount technology (SMT). With SMT components, blade terminals have replaced the wire leads which formerly extended through the PC boards. These terminals are connected to a surface of one side of the PC board, usually by soldering. This leaves the opposite side of the PC board available for constructing a different circuit using the same or different SMT components.
Because electronic components are often very light weight, it is not uncommon for the surface tension present in the liquid solder to push the SMT component up and away from the PC board; this is sometimes called the “Manhattan effect”. When this happens, the resulting connection between the SMT component and the PC board can be weak. Even if some of the solder does adhere to a terminal on the SMT connector, the solder may pull back from the terminal when it cools. Moreover, even if some of the solder remains in contact with a terminal, the connection can be broken during use, particularly if the PC board is located in an area subject to vibration—e.g., in an electrical box in a vehicle.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an SMT connector that overcame some or all of the surface tension of the liquid solder when it was being connected to a PC board.